Police suspect that a man who was driving a charter bus may have been low on sleep before his bus was involved in a fatal accident that killed four people last Tuesday. Authorities suspect that he was working long hours and his sleep patterns may have been disturbed because of the death of his wife.

The 57-year-old bus driver from Los Angeles only slept about three or four hours before he reported for duty on the day of the accident. According to relatives, the man is a hard worker and his days off were seldom. In some cases, he worked as many as seven days per week. The driver survived the accident but suffered severe injuries.

Family members of the driver say that he would not have endangered others by driving while drowsy. They say that another driver was available to take over at any time he needed it. His granddaughter described him as very responsible.

The bus accident resulted in numerous people being seriously injured and four people died. According to the California Highway Patrol, the bus crashed into a support pole at about 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The pole cut through the bus, splitting it through the middle as it ripped into the vehicle.

Buses are usually a very safe way of traveling, but when a serious collision happens, the number of people on board the typical bus — and the sheer weight of the vehicle as it crashes into other automobiles — can spell disaster. When passengers are hurt on board a bus during an accident, they may have the ability to seek personal injury claims to pay for medical care and other financial damages associated with their injuries.